The Warrior Speaks with His Sword (4)
The spar had entered its middle phase.
By now, twenty-five warriors had already been carried off the stage.
After tossing aside the fifteenth opponent, William flicked the blood from his blade with a leisurely motion.
‘Looks like I’ll have to give my sword a proper cleaning today.’
He hadn’t sliced into any internal organs, but blood was blood. It would need careful wiping. William snapped his fingers to shake off the blood clinging to his hand, then scanned the increasingly chaotic sparring arena.
“Hiyah!”
“Take my sword!”
“I shall show you the true essence of the Star Spear Technique!”
‘What a load of bullshit.’
Trying to look impressive in the middle of a melee. William scratched his head as he watched the warriors striking poses while they fought. He had secured such an overwhelming presence on the stage that even when he openly left openings, no one could approach him.
Not a single person who had charged at him had withstood a single strike. The people on the stage must have already realized it.
The winner of Group 9 had already been decided. All that remained was for the others to either ignore William as he stood there watching, and try to end things on a high note by sparring among themselves…
‘Five of them, huh.’
…Or form an alliance and challenge him again somehow.
Five people ganging up on one man wasn’t exactly a pretty sight, but for the warriors of Group 9, it was their only choice. Charging alone at an overwhelmingly superior opponent was practically suicide.
If this had been a real battle instead of a spar, the arena would already be soaked in blood and guts.
‘Still, it’s not completely impossible.’
That was the thought the five warriors had come to at the same time. The fights that had eliminated the twenty-five others had been nothing more than sloppy teamwork in name only. If these five took a moment to introduce themselves and coordinate properly, they might at least avoid being pushed back too easily.
“This is a cowardly act… but please understand.”
“There is no such thing as cowardice in a fight. In the end, the one who survives makes the rules.”
William responded in a calm voice and readjusted his stance.
The classic Western longsword stance. Hilt held high near the head, the point aimed threateningly at the opponent’s face.
Tension began to ripple across the sparring arena. Six warriors preparing for battle, and the spectators watching them. Every eye turned toward William once more.
“Here we come.”
The five warriors spread out and charged at him simultaneously.
Blades rushed in from different angles, as if trying to prevent the blue-eyed swordsman from blocking them all.
William glanced over the incoming swords and dashed toward the warrior on the far right.
“Huh?!”
He wasn’t using any advanced footwork or lightness techniques, yet his primitive, efficient steps closed the distance instantly. William’s sword deflected the opponent’s slash from right to left.
As the swung blade slid off harmlessly, the warrior lost his balance. William didn’t miss the opening. He drove the pommel straight into the man’s forehead.
“Uwaaack!”
“Train your lower body more next time.”
After kindly pointing out what needed improvement, William spun half a turn and assessed the four swords rushing toward him.
‘Their coordination is sloppy since they just threw it together on the spot.’
It wasn’t easy to move without interfering with each other after only a brief moment of coordination. True combined attacks required long periods of training.
William blocked the thrust coming from the far right with the flat of his blade and shoved it away with raw power. The unexpected burst of strength sent the warrior stumbling back, his sword tangling with the other three and producing a sharp metallic clash.
“Damn it…!”
“What marvelous skill!”
“This is the Iyi Jie Yi…!”
With their blades blocking one another, none could reach William. Instead, their bodies became hopelessly entangled.
‘Time to wrap this up.’
There was no one in Group 9 who could stand against him. If he felt like it, he could end this whenever he wanted. William charged at the off-balance warrior, kicked him flying, then immediately carved a long gash across the chest of the man beside him.
Wang Ho, one of the temporary alliance members who had been watching, urgently braced his legs and blocked the incoming strike.
‘What kind of strength is this…!’
He was reminded once again that great size came with great power. Gritting his teeth, he somehow managed to angle his sword and let the heavy blow slide off.
But as if he had expected it, William smoothly lowered his body along the path of the sliding blade and swung upward in a clean arc.
With a crisp strike, the warrior’s sword flew from his grasp.
“...I lost.”
“Next time, consider dodging first. You have footwork techniques—use them.”
“Thank you for the advice, Lord Wei.”
That made three more eliminated.
William rolled his slightly stiff shoulders, then tilted his body to the left as he sensed a presence behind him. A sword whistled past where he had just been standing.
He grabbed the attacker’s wrist, yanked him forward, and immediately attempted a shoulder throw.
“Ack!”
Against someone far beneath him in both realm and experience, there was no way to resist. William turned his gaze away from the man he had slammed into the ground and spoke to the remaining warriors, who were hesitating and backing away from his overwhelming presence.
“It’s almost time for lunch, so let’s finish this quickly.”
“Uncle, you were amazing! Every time you swung your sword, someone went down! You threw them, slammed them, kicked them!”
“Just as Junior Sister Hye-ryeong said, it was a very educational spar.”
“It was nothing. I didn’t show any particularly mysterious movements.”
Since none of them had even reached the Peak realm, it hadn’t been difficult to win as long as he stayed wary of coordinated attacks. Being praised for something so basic felt a little strange.
“Not at all. The way you fought in that chaotic melee will have opened the eyes of many martial artists.”
Was it really that impressive?
He had simply fought safely in the middle of a free-for-all. He displayed enough strength to discourage reckless attacks, subdued opponents as efficiently as possible, and when they tried to coordinate, he quickly took out the weakest link to break their formation.
Melee battles were common on the battlefield, so these were instincts he had naturally acquired—or rather, lessons he had been taught by his former commander. Once a knight finished a lance charge and found himself on foot, a melee was inevitable. The fact that he wore heavy armor and Aura Armor made the situation quite different, of course.
If a knight in his world was compared to a tank, the knights of this world were literally living tanks. A knight charging in Aura Armor could crush a person as if they had been hit by a truck.
“Hehe. I made it to the main tournament by watching you and copying what you did! So you really are amazing!”
“...It still looked pretty close, though.”
The last opponent had been slightly stronger than Hye-ryeong. And the way his eyes had been glued to her chest…
The spectators had noticed too.
It had been a bit annoying, but even he found it nearly impossible not to stare when her chest bounced during a fight. At least today she seemed to have wrapped her bandages tighter; there was less jiggling than usual.
If only sports bras existed in this world. He would have bought her one.
It really made him appreciate the conveniences of civilization.
“Anyway, I made it to the main tournament!”
“Yes, yes. Well done.”
So could you please stop subtly closing the distance? Everyone’s watching—read the room a little. I just want to eat in peace.
I picked up a piece of meat with my chopsticks, put it in my mouth, and savored the well-marinated flavor.
“There really isn’t a single bad dish here.”
“Haha, the head chef in charge of this restaurant once worked in the imperial palace.”
The imperial palace?
How did they manage to recruit such high-class talent? Someone with this level of skill shouldn’t have been let go so easily.
“For a chef like this to come all the way to the Wuxia Alliance, something must have happened.”
“It seems there were circumstances within the imperial court…”
Perhaps he had been pushed out during a power struggle. I nodded vaguely at Ha-jin’s evasive answer and picked up a dumpling with my chopsticks.
Mm. Delicious.
“Uncle, what are you going to do now?”
“Training.”
I needed to temper my body a bit before the main tournament. I should also review today’s preliminaries in my head.
This was the first time I had seen so many different martial arts at once. I wanted to reflect on what I had witnessed and raise my understanding of martial arts even a little.
In the end, all martial arts shared the same roots. If I could internalize what I had seen, it would surely advance my comprehension.
To fuse European Arts with the martial arts of the Central Plains, this kind of process was necessary.
The way they were used was simply too different.
“I was going to train too…”
“Hye-ryeong. Elder Baek said he would look at your sword. After we finish eating, let’s go receive his guidance.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Uncle… I’ll see you later…”
“Why the long face? The main tournament is only a few days away.”
“Hiiing…”
I patted Hye-ryeong’s drooping shoulders a couple of times as she stared at the floor, then stood up.
“Then I’ll take a short walk before heading off to train…”
“Have a good time…”
“Take care, Lord Wei.”
I left the restaurant under their farewells.